Senate BillIntroduced
S 5549: Relates to prohibiting exemptions for owners of vacant or unoccupied storefront properties.
What S 5549 does, verified January 9, 2026
The proposed law aims to prohibit exemptions for owners of vacant or unoccupied storefront properties in New York State. Currently, any owner of a commercial storefront property can be eligible for an exemption under the Real Property Tax Law if the property has been vacant or unoccupied for at least two years. However, under this proposed law, owners of such properties would no longer be eligible for exemptions if the property has been vacant or unoccupied for at least two years. This change applies to non-residential properties primarily used for buying, selling, or providing goods or services, located on the ground floor or street level of a commercial building.
Bill journey
1IntroducedCurrent
2In CommitteePending
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT (2026-01-07)Alert me
Quick answers about S 5549
- What is the current status of S 5549?
- As of January 9, 2026, S 5549 is recorded as "Introduced": it has been introduced and is waiting for its first committee hearing or floor vote. The last recorded action, on January 7, 2026, was "REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT".
- Did S 5549 pass?
- Not yet. S 5549 has been introduced and has not passed either house.
- Who wrote S 5549, and where is it now?
- S 5549 was authored by Sen. Cordell Cleare. Its committee of record is Senate Local Government.
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions2 total · showing 2
| Jan. 07, 2026 | REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT |
| Feb. 24, 2025 | REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT |
Latest bill textIntroduced version, February 24, 2025 · 306 words
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5549 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 24, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. CLEARE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government AN ACT to amend the real property tax law, in relation to prohibiting exemptions for owners of vacant or unoccupied storefront properties The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The real property tax law is amended by adding a new 2 section 498 to read as follows: 3 § 498. Prohibition on eligibility of exemptions for owners of vacant 4 or unoccupied storefront properties. 1. Notwithstanding any other 5 provision of law, any owner of a commercial storefront property shall 6 not be eligible for an exemption under this chapter on such property if 7 the property has been vacant or unoccupied for at least two years. 8 2. For purposes of this section: 9 (a) "commercial storefront property" shall mean any non-residential 10 property that may be used primarily for the buying, selling or otherwise 11 providing of goods or services, which is located on the ground floor or 12 street level of a commercial building; 13 (b) "vacant" shall mean minimal or no inanimate objects on such prop- 14 erty; and 15 (c) "unoccupied" shall mean a lack of habitual presence of individuals 16 primarily engaged in buying, selling or otherwise providing goods or 17 services. 18 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to assess- 19 ment rolls prepared on the basis of taxable status dates occurring on or 20 after such date. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD08493-01-5
Text of S 5549 as introduced, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions